Revolver with spring-biased thrust arm



May 17, 1966 G. MITTELSTEADT 3,251,153

REVOLVER WITH SPRING'BIASED THRUST ARM Filed May 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVEN TOR.

y 1966 G. 1.. MITTELSTEADT 3,251,153

REVOLVER WITH SPRING-BIASED THRUST ARM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1965 I NVENTOR. gw/vznf/rrasrz-war REVOLVER WITH SPRING-BIASED THRUST ARM Glen L. Mittelsteadt, Waseca, Minn., assignor to Herters Inc., Waseca, Minn., acorporation of Minnesota Filed May 14, 1965, Ser. No. 455,817 4 Claims. (Cl. 42-65) This invention relates to firearms and more specificallyto a revolver capable of Single and double action.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved revolver including a hammer, and a trigger for actuating the hammer, a thrust mechanism being provided that cooperates with the trigger and hammer action to permit double and single action firing of the revolver.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved revolver, of simple and inexpensive construction, including a thrust arm for imparting force to the hammer, and which is subject to the action of a pair of springs whereby the revolver is capable of both single and double action firing.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like character references refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a fragmentary portion of a revolver with a portion of the handle cover removed and showing the hammer in full line configuration in'its forwardmost or normal position, and illustrating the rearmost position of the hammer during double action type firing;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the revolver and illustrating the trigger and hammer disposed in a fully cocked position for a single action firing;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the revolver with the cylinder illustrated in an adjusted position by dotted line configuration;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 44 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of arrows;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 55 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 6-6, of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be seen that one embodiment of the revolver designated generally by the reference numeral 10 is there shown. The revolver includes a revolver body or frame 11 with a barrel 12 fitted thereto and provided with a grip 13. Revolvable cylinder 14 is provided which is of conventional construction and which is revolvably mounted on a cylinder shaft 15 that extends axially therethrough and which is releasably locked in the operative position at its front end by a spring urged locking element 16. The rearmost end of shaft 15 positioned within the socket or recess 17 in the face 18 of the revolver body 11. It will be noted that the cylinder '14 is provided with six chambers 19 each adapted toreceive a round therein. The cylinder is also shiftable between an operative position, as illustrated in full line configuration of FIG. 3 and an inoperative position as illustrated by dotted line configuration of FIG. 3, by conventional mounting mechanism. This mechanism includes an arm 20 having United States Patent 0 bore 21 therein through which the shaft 15 projects the lower end of the arm 20 having a pin 22 affixed thereto and projecting outwardly therefrom. The pin 22 is positioned within a recess 23 formed in the body or frame 11 above the trigger guard 24 and may be locked against movement therefrom by suitable locking pin which engages an annular groove in the pin 22 in a well known manner.

The body or frame 11 of the revolver is also provided with a firing pin 24 which projects through an opening 25 therein and is disposed in coaxial relation with respect to the axis of the barrel 12. The firing pin 24 is spring urged 4 to a retractive position and is impelled forwardly for firing a round in the cylinder 14 by action of the hammer 26 which is pivotally mounted upon the body 11 by pivot 27. The hammer 26 is provided at its lower forward end portion with a sear-engaging element 28 having a pair of teeth 29 thereon which defines a groove or sear-engaging notch therebetween. The forward surface of the hammer 26'is provided with a slot which is positioned a finger 30 which is pivoted to the hammer by pivot 31 and which is urged in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 by small helical spring 32 that is also disposed within a recess within the hammer 26. It will also be noted that the forward portion of the hammer 26 is recessed to define :a generally concave surface 33 which is located just above the sear-engaging element 28.

The revolver 10 also includes a trigger 34 which is pivoted to the body 11 by pivot 35. The trigger 34 is provided with a rearward extension 36 which defines a sear 37 that cooperates with the hammer 26 during the firing operation of the revolver. It will also be noted that a pawl 38 is pivotably connected to the trigger 34 by pivot 39. This pawl projects upwardly therefrom and through a vertical slot 40 formed in the body 11. It will be noted as best seen in FIG. 4 that the slot 40 is offset relative to the vertical center line plane of the body 11. This slot 40 is tapered upwardly as best seen in FIG. 6, to define a rear camming surface 41 for camming the pawl 38 forwardly through the slot as the pawl is moved upwardly by action of the trigger 34 when the latter is retracted. Referring now to FIG. 5 it will 'be seen that the rear surface of the cylinder 14 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially arranged pawl engaging elements 42 which are wedge shape and which are successively engaged by the tip 43 of the pawl to index the cylinder 14 through a partial revolution after the firing pin has been fired by the hammer and during retraction of the trigger.

Means are also provided for retaining the cylinder 14 in its adjusted indexed position to permit firing of the round that is aligned with the barrel and this meansincludes a plurality of recesses 44 symmetrically arranged in the exterior surface of the cylinder 14 and being successively engaged by the detent 45 that projects through an aperture in a floor plate 46 carried by the body 11 and located above the trigger 34. It will be noted that the detent element 45 is urged into engaging relation with respect to the trigger 34 by spring urged plunger 47, also carried by the body or frame 11. The locking action of this cylinder locking mechanism as well as the cylinder indexing action of the pawl and pawl engaging elements or rachets 42 is well known in the art. This entire action is controlled by movement of the trigger 34 in a well known manner and further description of this operation is felt to be unnecessary for the instant application. It

should be pointed out, however that the pawl 38 is constantly urged forwardly through the slot 40 by a spring element 48 as best seen in FIG. 6.

Means are provided for urging the hammer 26 about its pivot in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 so that when the hammer is released by the trigger, the hammer will be forced forward to strike the firing pin and fire or detonate the round. This means includes a thrust mechanism comprised of a thrust arm 49 which, as seen, includes a first arm portion 50 and a second arm portion 51. It will be noted that the first arm portion has greater length dimension than the second arm portion and that these two arm portions are interconnected together in angulated relation, whereby the included angle therebetween is slightly less than 90 degrees, The thrust arm 49 is positioned within the grip 13 and is pivotably connected to the lower portion thereof by pivot 52 which extends through the lug 53 carried by the grip 13. The upper end of the first arm portion 50 is connected to a coupling plate or element 54 by a pivot 55 as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. the coupling plate 54 is pivotally connected to the hammer 26 by pivot 56 which is spaced from the pivot 55.

Means are provided for normally urging the thrust arm 50 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 so that the hammer 26 is also urged towards its forward and norm-a1 position. This means includes a first helical spring 57 which has its lowermost coil positioned around a positioning element 58 carried by the grip 13 and held in place by a suitable set screw 59. The helical spring 57 projects upwardly through a sleeve 60 and a plunger 61, carried by the upper end of spring 57 engages the lower surface of the arm portion 51 to urge the same in a clockwise direction about the pivot 52.

A positioning element 62 is fixed to a forward portion of the grip 13 and projects rearwardly therefrom and a second helical spring 63 is positioned in embracing relation around this positioning element 62 and bears against the arm portion 50 intermediate the ends thereof. It will be noted that the spring 63 is substantially smaller and exerts a lesser force on the thrust arm 49 than the spring 57. To this end it will be noted that this weaker helical spring 63 also urges the thrust arm in a clockwise direction about the pivot 52. It is pointed out however, that the helical spring 63 is in a substantially relaxed condition when the hammer 26 is in its forwardmost or normal position while the helical spring 57 is somewhat flexed even when the hammer 26 is in the normal or forwardmost position. Thus of the total force exerted by the springs 57 and 63, the greater amount is attributable to the spring 57. By utilizing a thrust arm which is comprised of a pair of arm portions and which is constantly urged to impart thrust to the hammer 26, the revolver is capable of both single and double action firing.

For example, if the revolver is to be fired by single action, the trigger will be retracted from the full line position of FIG. 1 to the position illustrated in FIG. 2. As the hammer is retracted to its rearmost position, sear 37 will engage in the sear-engaging notch defined by the teeth 29 of the sear engaging element 28. The hammer will be releasably locked in its retracted position and the thrust arm 49 will tend to urge the coupling plate 54 to pivot about the pivot 56. Thus the hammer 26 will be urged in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot 27 as viewed in FIG. 2. Therefore when the trigger 34 is pulled, the sear 37 will move out of the sear-engaging notch of the sear engaging element and the hammer will be urged forwardly to strike the firing pin 24 and fire the round. Referring again to FIG. 2, it will be noted that the spring 63 as well as the spring 57 are both compressed when hammer ,26 is in the cocked position for single action firing.

' 4 However, during the double action firing of the revolver, is is only necessary to pull the trigger and the hammer will be retracted and released primarily by action of the helical spring 57. During this action, the sear 37 will initially be in a position illustrated by a full line configuration of FIG. 1 as the trigger is moved rearwardly about its pivot, the finger 30 will pivot in clockwise It will also be noted that direction about its pivot 31 until it reaches the limits of its movement at which time the trigger sear 37 will urge the finger in a clockwise direction about its pivot 31. This will continue until the hammer and trigger have reached the dotted line position of FIG. 1 wherein the sear 37 will ride clear of the finger 30 and the hammer 26 will thereby be released. It will be noted that the hammer 26 in the double action firing is not retracted to the full line position as illustrated in FIG. 2 before it is released. Thus the spring 63 is subjected to only a slight amount of compression and the spring 57 exerts most of the force on the thrust arm 49.

The use of the spring 63 permits effective single action firing of the revolver and there is little chance of misfiring since suflicient force is imparted to the hammer to assure firing of the round by the firing pin. Therefore maximum efficiency for operation of the revolver is obtained through the use of the unique trigger and hammer action and its cooperative relation with respect to the thrust arm and pair of thrust imparting springs utilized in conjunction therewith.

It will therefore be seen that I provided a novel revolver which is'capable of both single and double action firing with a minimum of change in the conventional revolver mechanisms.

It will also be seen from the foregoing description that the uniquely constructed thrust arm and pair of thrust imparting springs associated therewith define a trigger and ham-mer action that provides a revolver with positive single and double action firing capabilities. Thus it will be seen that I have provided a conventional revolver with a novel single and double firing action, of simple and inexpensive construction, and one which functions in a more efficient manner than any heretofore known comparable arrangement. 7

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of our invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a revolver comprising the frame having a barrel secured thereto,

a rotatable cylinder mounted on said frame and having a plurality of chambers successively aligned with said barrel as the cylinder is rotated,

a firing pin mounted on said frame for firing rounds within the cylinder,

a hammer pivotally mounted on said frame for firing said firing pin and having a sear engaging element thereon,

a trigger mounted on said frame for actuating said hammer for single and double action firing and having a scar thereon, said hammer being movable by the trigger without interruption from forward normal position to a retracted position and thereafter to the forward normal position during the double action, and during the single action, said hammer being retained in a retracted cocked position by cooperative action of said scar and sear engaging element,

an elongate thrust arm including a first elongate arm portion and a second somewhat shorter arm portion substantially normal to said first portion, said thrust arm being pivotal on said frame about a point at the intersection of said arm portions,

coupling means interconnecting said thrust arm and said hammer, first spring means engaging said second arm portion and a second spring means engaging said first arm portion, said spring means cooperating with each other and said thrust arm to urge the hammer towards its forwardmost position from its retracted cocked position during single action firing of the revolver, and said first spring means constituting substantially the major force for urging the hammer towards its forwardmost position during double action firing thereof. 2. The revolver as defined in claim 1 wherein said second spring engages said first arm portion intermediate the ends thereof.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said first spring is substantially larger and stronger than said second spring.

4. The revolver as defined in claim 1 wherein said coupling means comprises a coupling plate pivotally connected to said thrust arm and also pivotally connected to said hammer at apoint spaced from the axis of pivot between the thrust arm and coupling plate.

No references cited.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A REVOLVER COMPRISING THE FRAME HAVING A BARREL SECURED THERETO, A ROTATABLE CYLINDER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF CHAMBERS SUCCESSIVELY ALINGED WITH SAID BARREL AS THE CYLINDER IS ROTATED, A FIRING PIN MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR FIRING ROUNDS WITHIN THE CYLINDER, A HAMMER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR FIRING SAID FIRING PIN AND HAVING A SEAR ENGAGING ELEMENT THEREON, A TRIGGER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR ACTUATING SAID HAMMER FOR SINGLE AND DOUBLE ACTION FIRING AND HAVING A SEAR THEREON, SAID HAMMER BEING MOVABLY BY THE TRIGGER WITHOUT INTERRUPTION FROM FORWARD NORMAL POSITION TO A RETRACTED POSITION AND THEREAFTER TO THE FORWARD NORMAL POSITION DURING THE DOUBLE ACTION, AND DURING THE SINGLE ACTION, SAID HAMMER BEING RETAINED IN A RETRACTED COCKED POSITION BY COOPERATIVE ACTION OF SAID SEAR AND SEAR ENGAGING ELEMENT, AN ELONGATE THRUST ARM INCLUDING A FIRST ELONGATE ARM PORTION AND A SECOND SOMEWHAT SHORTER ARM PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID FIRST PORTION, SAID THRUST ARM BEING PIVOTAL ON SAID FRAME ABOUT A POINT AT THE INTERSECTIN OF SAID ARM PORTIONS, COUPLING MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID THRUST ARM AND SAID HAMMER, FIRST SPRING MEANS ENGAGING SAID SECOND ARM PORTION AND A SECOND SPRING MEANS ENGAGING SAID FIRST ARM PORTION, SAID SPRING MEANS COOPERATING WITH EACH OTHER AND SAID THRUST ARM TO URGE THE HAMMER TOWARDS ITS FORWARDMOST POSITION FROM ITS RETRACTED COCKED POSITION DURING SINGLE ACTION FIRING OF THE REVOLVER, AND SAID FIRING MEANS CONSTITUTING SUBSTANTIALLY THE MAJOR FORCE FOR URGING THE HAMMER TOWARDS ITS FORWARDMOST POSITION DURING DOUBLE ACTION FIRING THEREOF. 